History Repeats Itself

I was reading this week about Israel’s founding in 1948. I posted a piece about it on my Patreon site. In Sir Martin Gilbert’s masterful work, Israel, he provides rich detail about the Jewish state’s modern history. I was struck by how similar 1948 is to 2024 and the interference of the Biden Regime. Really. I was not really aware that American perspectives on the Arab-Israeli conflict have not changed at all in 75 years. And they have been consistent.

In 1967, with Egypt breathing down Israel’s neck, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson urged Israel’s Levi Eshkol to stand down and not attack first. LBJ promised Israel could count on America.

Israel knew that they couldn’t. In fact, LBJ is among history’s most foul liars. Not only did Israel ignore him, they preempted the Arab armies surrounding them, and you know the rest.

The Six-Day War. Total victory. The return of their ancestral land.

Ahead of Israel’s declaration of independence on May 14, 1948, David Ben Gurion sent Golda Meir on a secret mission to Transjordan to gauge where King Abdullah was in his view of war. The surrounding Arab states had promised to invade Israel if they went ahead with their plans for statehood. Abdullah represented the closest thing the Arabs presented as sane and reasonable. In fact, a few years later, Abdullah was apparently prepared to recognize Israel and sign a treaty. Of course, jihadists murdered him on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. It was a tragic failure to normalize relations.

And guess what? In the weeks leading up to May 14, the U.S. was pushing… a three-month ceasefire!

The days and hours became so tense and tight that no one knew what was going to happen. Military estimates were that Israel had, at best, a 50/50 chance of staving off a shattering defeat. They had very few tanks and a couple of planes. From Gilbert’s work:

“With Yadin and Galili on their way back to Haganah headquarters, Ben-Gurion, as chairman of the Provisional Council, called for a decision by a show of hands on the United States proposal for a cease-fire. By six votes to four, the proposal was rejected. It was then agreed that statehood would be established on the following Friday afternoon, in two days’ time.”

Wow.

This is what I think is going to happen this time, too. The demonic pressure on Israel—America telling them how to fight their war and demanding ridiculous ceasefires—is simply the wrong way to go.

And sure enough, in only the last couple of days, Israel has uncovered the horrors in Rafah everyone knew were there. Three Israelis kidnapped on October 7 are now known to have been murdered then. For more than seven months, as their families hoped against hope, those three people have been decomposing in a hellhole made by Hamas. And also this week, five IDF soldiers were killed in a friendly fire incident. That incident wouldn’t have happened if Biden hadn’t pressured Israel. Their blood is on his hands. In the next life, he’ll be accountable.

Think of it. Every time their “great ally” America promises this and that, Israel knows they are alone. A good rule of thumb is, if patterns are present, if precedents are set, don’t trust anyone. If Israel had relied on the U.S. advice several times since World War 2, they wouldn’t be here now. During World War 2, FDR refused to send even one plane to bomb the tracks leading to Auschwitz.

The U.S. government is not Israel’s friend.

Israel right now is operating all through Gaza. In Rafah, they have cut off Hamas finally from the outside world. No more re-armament, no more supplies to wage war. More Hamas terrorists are being killed every day. The IDF has reduced the number of rocket launchers from 20,000 to a handful. And in the north, Hezbollah heats things up, but I have a conviction that all the doomsday talk of overwhelming Hezbollah rockets will turn back on the terrorists. It’s happened so many times before, stretching back to antiquity. God fights for His people.

He will now, too.

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The Arab Street

On the night of May 6, Israel carried a quick strike in east Rafah, to take control of the Rafah Crossing. Everyone was caught off-guard by this, assuming that an assault by the IDF would come elsewhere. By controlling the Crossing, Israel ensured Hamas was trapped.

Of course, overshadowing this was the Biden Regime’s reprehensible declaration that they would hold-up arms shipments to Israel. Along with the Rafah Crossing operation, it is also instructive to realize what is happening in Judea-Samaria.

Heightened terror activity by Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other groups has compelled Israel to deploy forces in the West Bank. A very sophisticated IED was found at Joseph’s Tomb, as Jewish worshippers approached it this week. A bomb squad defused it, but such incidents show that the Palestinians—the Arab Street—are everywhere a beehive of activity. They feel a real kinship with Hamas, and represent yet another front against Israel.

Back in Rafah:

The Palestinian media reported that before the start of the IDF ground operation in Rafah, intensive air force strikes were carried out in east Rafah. After the operation began, Hisham Zaqout, a correspondent for al-Jazeera TV in Rafah, reported on non-stop IDF artillery fire and air force strikes in east Rafah. The focal points of the attack were the al-Janina and al-Salam neighborhoods and the village of al-Shuka (al-Quds, May 7, 2024). Later, it was reported that the IDF continued attacking east Rafah, especially the area of Dahaniya Airport (Wafa YouTube channel, May 9, 2024). According to reports, the IDF’s operation is limited to an area of only three square kilometers, and the targets attacked were tall buildings used by the Palestinian terrorist organizations for surveillance and gathering information about the IDF.

UNRWA, the menacing, pro-Palestinian bureau of the UN, continues to agitate and spread propaganda that Israel is causing a humanitarian disaster.

Other bad actors like PA/PLO chairman Mahmoud Abbas joined in with pressure.

Before the start of the IDF operation in Rafah, Abbas tried to prevent it by meeting with Arab and international officials on April 28, 2024. He gave a speech at the recent World Economic Forum meeting in Riyadh in which he expressed concern, and noted that only the United States could stop Israel from carrying out the operation. This last bit is a subtle hint that the Biden Regime is on the side of the terrorists, coordinating responses like that of Abbas.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for Mahmoud Abbas, claimed the occupation of the Rafah Crossing, the threat to evict the Palestinians from the shelters and places of residence, and the prevention of the entry of UN workers into the Strip were “war crimes” for which Israel had to be brought to justice. He called on the American administration to prevent Israel, without hesitation, from invading Rafah and expelling the Palestinians.

Another PA official actually blamed Hamas, but I suspect this is jockeying for position, post-war. Remember, Hamas and the PLO are rivals. The PA/PLO wants to rule Gaza going forward, something Benjamin Netanyahu adamantly opposes.

Mahmoud al-Habash, advisor to Mahmoud Abbas, had an unusual reaction, holding Hamas responsible for everything that had happened and would happen in Rafah because, he said, Hamas wanted to continue controlling the Gaza Strip. He added that Hamas provided Israel with all the excuses for continuing the war, and the Gazans were the ones who would pay the price for Hamas’ adventures.

I remain convinced that the overwhelming majority of Palestinians are so indoctrinated with anti-Jewish hate that there is no possibility of a true peace deal. With about 8 million Israeli Jews in the area, along with more than two million Palestinians, no one I’m aware of has a truly workable plan for achieving peace in this volatile area.

Come quickly, Lord Jesus.